It's all so confusing!

All of my symptoms are related to one another, and every diagnosis that I've received overlaps with the last one.  The problem is that I can't seem to get to the root cause of all of this and find a treatment that will make it better.  I don't really care what name it goes by.  I just need to find the underlying common denominator and treat THAT, instead of treating each individual symptom which has been getting me nowhere for the last several years.

On Monday I had a consultation with a Lyme specialist.  It was an interesting appointment, and the doctor explained a lot of things.  Many of my previous diagnoses can be related to Lyme, including POTS, autoimmune hypothyroid, and IBS.  One interesting thing that the doctor pointed out is that Fibromyalgia is "pain without inflammation," while Lyme would include inflammation.  I definitely have inflammation.  Maybe that would explain why I didn't respond to the FM medications at all.

The doctor also confirmed what I had read about my Lyme blood test results - that the band I tested positive for is only indicative of Lyme, even though it is not a technical "positive" result based on the CDC criteria.  Multiple bands need to show as positive for a technically positive result, which doesn't really make much sense considering many of the other bands could be positive for reasons other than Lyme.  Some of them show positive in a majority of the population even though most people don't have Lyme, and some could be positive if you have gingivitis!  Another interesting fact is that once Lyme becomes chronic (not a brand new infection), it is no longer in your bloodstream.  It moves into your cells, since that is what it feeds off of.  Again, it makes sense that someone who has a blood test shortly after noticing a tick bite will test positive with no question, but someone with an advanced stage of Lyme will not show positive on a blood test.

For now, the doctor drew more blood to retest with more sensitive tests.  I'll have to wait for those results before he can decide if he'll treat me for Lyme or not.  In the mean time, he also mentioned something about Vitamin D in autoimmune disorders, and that supplementation may actually be BAD for you.  So, I did my own research and came across some articles explaining why.  It's difficult to explain, but essentially your body produces what it needs, and additional Vitamin D can act to suppress the immune system, further decreasing your body's ability to fight off whatever it encounters.  In my case, it makes a lot of sense.  It explains why my body has reacted negatively every time I've tried to supplement with Vitamin D.  It may not be the most accepted answer in the medical community, but I listen to my body and consider that my own research.

Today I'm home sick.  (Surprised?  Didn't think so.)  I've been having awful bouts with ear pain in the left ear, and migraines on top of that.  This all needs to STOP!  I'm doing absolutely everything I can to get myself better, and instead I feel like I'm only getting worse.  Well, at least I know that I haven't found the answer yet.  The search continues.